Roofing element and roof made thereof



H. A. CUMFER ROOFING ELEMENT AND ROOF MADE THEREOF Filed April 16, 1919 2 Sheet-Sheet 1 Oct. 26 1926. 1,604,339- H. A. CUMFER ROOFING ELEMENT AND ROOF MADE THEREOF Filed April 16, 1919 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented Oct. 26, 1926. I UNITED STATES 1,604,339- PATENT OFFICE.

m .F HARRY A. CUMFER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, TO

THE ELINTKOTE COMPANY, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS, A. CORPORATION OF MAS- SAOHUSETTS.

ROOFING ELEMENT AND ROOF MADE THEREOF.

Application filed April 16, 1919. Serial No. 290,491.

This invention relates to improvements in roofing and method of laying same and has among its salient objects, to provide a novel form of roofing element which may be cut out as strip shingle; to provide a construction which when laid on a roof appears in the form of hexagonal shingles; to provide a construction in which the strip shingles can be out either transversely across the end of a moving roofing blank or can be cut longitudinally of said moving roofing blank; to provide a novel manner of forming a roofing out of said roofing elements and in general to provide an improved product of the character referred to.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of the blank or sheet from which the strip shingles are cut transversely.

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the blank or sheet from which the strip shingles are cut longitudinally.

Fig. 3 is a face view of a single roofing element.

Fig. 4 is a View of the roofing elements when laid upon the roof, showing the arrangement of the units to form the hexagonal design.

Describing first the manner of forming roofing elements by cutting them transversely of the sheet, a sheet of prepared roofing with or without a bituminous coating and with or without a granular facing is fed beneath cutting mechanism adapted to cut the sheet along the irregular lines a and b and along the straight transverse line 0. The shoulder portion (2 is also preferably cut out of the one side of the roofing blank. As the sheet is fed along in timed relation With the actuation of the cutting mechanism, the blank will be continuously cut into the roofing element e shown in Fig. 3.

Describing the manner of cutting the roofing elements longitudinally of the sheet as shown in Fig. 2, the sheet is at either side severed along irregular lines f and also centrally longitudinally slitted along straight line g. The sheet is also transversely severed along the lines h. It will thus be seen that the entire sheet is cut into a plurality of shingle strips 6 there being four strips cut out of the width of the sheet in the construction shown in the drawings. This operation is carried on as a continuous process, the cutting mechanism being actuated in timed relation with the mechanism for feeding the sheet forwardly.

In building up the roof, the shingle strips preferably have a granular facing as for example "a facing of green stone. The roof may be built up with strips of the same color or in order to get a design effect they may be built up with strips having a facing of green stone and of strip shingles having a facing of red stone. In this event, the strips are laid on the roof in the manner shown in the drawing so that hexagonal shingles are formed of alternately green and red. Referring back to the shingle strip shown in Fig. 3, it will be seen each comprises a body portion 1, end portions 2 and 3, downwardly projecting tabs 4 and recess portion 5. The body portion 1 preferably has a straight edge 6 although it is to be understood that this ed e may be also notched or cut irregularly if desired. It is to be noted that the lower edges 7 of the tabs 4 are preferably of the same width as the upper edge 8 of the recess portion 5. Also that the tabs 4 are or may be nearly as wide as body portion 1. Furthermore that the side edges 9 of the tabs and the recesses are relatively long being substantially as long as the edges 7 of the tabs. It is desirable to have these broad relatively deep tabs in order to get the hexagonal effect when the roofing elements are built up into a roof. It is also to be noted that the cutaway portion of these shingles must be of uniform width and depth in or- 'der to get the desired effect when built up into a roof.

When the shingles are laid on the roof, the lower edge or base of a tab in one course registers with the base of the space between the tabs of the next lower course, with the result that a double thickness of material is exposed, thereby increasing the appearance of thickness of the shingles, and also resulting in a roof presenting the appearance of a collection of hexagonal shingles.

I claim as my invention:

1. A roofing element consisting of a strlp shingle comprising a body portion and a plurality of equilateral semnhexagonal equi-spaced apart tab portions, said tab portions being substantially as deep as the body portion and the lower edges of said tab portions being substantially as broad as the upper edge of the recesses or spaces between the tabs.

2. A built up roofing consisting of a plurality of overlapped strip shingle elements adapted to form equilateral hexagonal outlines on the roof, each of said strip shingle elements consisting of a body portion and a plurality of equi-spaced semi-hexagonal tabs having a broad lower edge substantially parallel with the upper edge of the shingle element.

3. A built up roofing consisting of a plurality of overlapped strip shingle elements adapted to form equilateral hexagonal outlines on the roof, each of said strip shingle elements consisting of a body portion and a plurality of equi-spaced semihexagonal tabs having a broad lower edge substantially parallel with the upper edge of the shingle element, the portion of said shingle elements having a facing of one color and another portion of said shingle elements having a facing of different color whereby regular designs may be formed by suitably overlapping said shingle elements on the roof.

4. A roofing element consisting in a strip shingle having a body portion and a plurality of equi-spaced apart equilateral tab portions and recesses between said tab portions, said tab portions and recesses adapted to cooperate with identical portions of similar elements to form hexagonal outlines on the roof when laid.

5. A roofing element consisting in a strip shingle comprising a body portion and a plurality of semi-hexagonal equispaced apart tab portions, the three sides of the tab portions being of substantially the same length.

6. A roofing element consisting in a strip shingle comprising a body portion and a plurality of semi-hexagonal equispaced apart tab portions formed along its lower edge, the diagonal dividing each tab into a semi-hexagonal tongue coinciding with the lower edge of the body portion, the sides imdgt 1llower edge of said tabs being equi- 7. A shingle unit comprising a piece of roofing material formed along its lower edge with a plurality of spaced, semihexagonal tabs, the spaces between said tabs being complementary in shape to said tabs, said units adapted to be laid in courses with the ends of the tabs coinciding with the upper edges of the spaces in the next lower course, thereb presenting the appearance of hexagonal s ingles, each tab being so proportloned that the horizontal edge thereof predominates in length over the horizontal projection of the sides of said tabs.

8. Shingle units formed from a sheet of roofing material, each comprising a strip havlng a plurality of spaced, semi-hexagonal tabs projecting from a side thereof,

the spaces between said tabs being complemental to the tabs, the sides of said tabs being not greater in length than the ends thereof, said units constructed and arranged to be laid collectively in courses with the tab ends of one course coinciding with the bases of the spaces between tabs of the next course, to present the appearance of a collection of hexagonal shingles.

9. A shingle strip formed from a sheet of roofing material, comprising an elongated body portion and a plurality of complemental tabs and spaces extending transversely of the body portion, the end edges of the tabs and the inner edges of the spacesbeing equal in length and parallel with each other; the side edges of the tabs forming obtuse angles with the end edges of the tabs and the inner edges of the spaces; the length of an end tab edge being not less than the projection of each side tab-edge upon a prolongation of the line of the end tab-edge, so that in edgewise view, the strip exhibits a series of long lines of equal length presented by the alternating end tab-edges and inner space-edges, with intervening lines of no greater length presented by the perspectives of the side edges of the tabs; whereby, when such strips are laid upon a roof with the end tab-edges of one strip registering with the inner space-edges of another strip, the edgewise view of said strips collectively will exhibit alternating double thicknesses of uniform length and intervening single thicknesses of not reater length, and the resulting roof will be characterized by the contrast of the conspicuous double thicknesses with the less conspicuous single thicknesses.

10. A shingle strip formed from a sheet of roofing material, comprising an elongated body portion and a plurality of tabs and spaces extending transversel of the body portion; the side tab-edges forming obtuse angles with the end tab-edges and the inner space-edges; the length of an end tab-edge being not less than one-half the width of the tab at its base adjacent the body portion,so that in edgewise view, the strip exhibits a series of lines presenting in sequence an end tab-edge, a perspective of a side tab-edge, an inner space-edge, a perspective of a side tab-edge and an end tabedge, the aggregate lengths of the tab endedges and the inner space-edges being not less than. the aggregate of the perspectives of the side tab-edges; whereby, when such strips are laid upon a roof with the end tabedges of one strip adjacent the inner spaceedge of another strip, the edgewise View of said strips collectively will exhibit alternating double thicknesses and single thicknesses, the aggregate length of the double thicknesses being not less than the aggregate length of the single thicknesses, and the resulting roof being characterized by the contrast of the aggregate length of the conspicuous double thicknesses with the no greater aggregate length of the less conspicuous single thicknesses.

11. A shingle unit formed from sheet roofing material, comprising a shingle tab tapered so that its edges present convex obtuse angles at its outer end, and a concave obtuse angle with the body of the unit at its base, the end tab-edge being substantially parallel with the remote side of said concave angle; and the length of the end tabedge plus the length of said remote side of said concave angle being not less than the aggregate of the projections of the side tabedges upon the line of the end tab-edge.

12. In a roofing construction, the combination of a series of overlapping courses of roofing units, each unit comprising a body portion having a tapered tab narrower at its free end and spaced from one end of said body portion and having its end parallel to the front edge of said body portion; each course comprising a plurality of units laid end to end, presenting alternating shingle tabs and spaces; said. tabs being so spaced that the length of the front edges of said units forming the spaces between adjacent tabs are each equal to the length of the end edge of a shingle tab; said courses be ing arranged to position the end tab-edges of one course in register with space-edges of the adjacent course, said tabs and spaces of adjacent courses cooperating to present the appearance of a plurality of shingles, the ends of which are of double thickness and the side edges adjacent the end edges of single thickness, said tab being so tapered that the aggregate length of the perspective of the tab side edges when viewed in elevation edgewise of the units are not greater than the length of the end edges of the shingle tab.

13. A shingle unit comprising an elongated strip of rooting material formed along its lower edge with a plurality of semi-hexagonal tabs, with recesses between the same equal and complementary to said tabs, the end edge of each tab being not less than one-half the width of said tab at its base,- whereby when a plurality of said units are laid in overlapping relation with the ends of the tabs coinciding with the bases of the recesses in the next lower unit, they present the appearance of a surface of hexagonal shingles.

14:. A shingle strip formed from a sheet of roofing material, comprising an elongated body portion and a plurality of tabs and spaces extending transversely of the body portion; the side tab-edges forming obtuse I angles with the end tab-edges and the inner space-edges; the end tab-edges and the inner space-edges being substantially parallel to the length of the body portion; and the lengths-of the end tab-edges and inner spaceedges aggregating not less than the aggregate of the projections of the side tab-edges on the line of the end tab-edges,whereby in edge view, the shingle strip exhibits an aggregate length of side elevations oi the end tab-edges and inner space-edges, not less than the aggregate length of the perspectives of the side tab-edges.

15. In a roofing construction, the com-v bination of a series of overlapping courses of rooting units, each course comprising alternating tapered tabs and spaces; the. end tab-edges in one course being positioned adjacent the inner space-edges of another course to present double thicknesses in contrast with the single thicknesses presented by the inclined side tab-edges; said units collectively, in edge View, exhibiting an aggregate length of said double thicknesses not less than the aggregate length of said single thicknesses.

HARRY A. CUMFER. 

